NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Harold, KY
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Harold, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 7
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Harold
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Harold; the strongest was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 48 miles away. The record near Harold begins with an unnamed storm in 1915; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 75 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1930s, with 2 systems. None of the 7 systems has come since 2000. Harold has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on March 2, 2012; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 7, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on October 7, 2014. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 98% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Harold. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 71 times since 1980, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Harold has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Harold's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Harold
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 18 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Harold: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Harold
By decade
- 2010s3(1 EF3+)
- 2000s1
- 1990s2
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 20 mi | 49.04 mi | 2 / 37 |
| May 18, 1995 | F2 | 20 mi | 24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 7, 2014 | EF1 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 2011 | EF1 | 8 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 1974 | F1 | 21 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2009 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.58 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1998 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Harold
The Storm Prediction Center has 71 hail reports within 10 miles of Harold since 1980, made on 49 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 9, 2011. The most recent report is from May 8, 2025. May has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Harold
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Williamson, WV, 23 miles northeast of Harold at 760 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 47°F and 26°F. July is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 48.3 inches over 102 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 44 days a year, almost all from April to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 95 nights a year. Snowfall averages 13.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 48.3 inches is more than at 24 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (26%). Martin, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (Paintsville 1E, KY): 46.2 inches a year, 2.1 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 26 | 3.4 | 8 | 4.4 |
| Feb | 51 | 29 | 3.4 | 8 | 3.0 |
| Mar | 60 | 35 | 4.7 | 9 | 3.1 |
| Apr | 72 | 44 | 4.0 | 9 | 0.1 |
| May | 79 | 54 | 4.3 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 63 | 5.4 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 67 | 5.8 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 66 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 59 | 3.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 47 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 35 | 3.0 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 50 | 30 | 4.1 | 9 | 2.4 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 48.3 | 102 | 13.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Williamson, WV (760 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Harold
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 310 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Harold: 193 thunderstorm wind reports, 65 flash floods, 42 floods, 9 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on March 31, 2025. August has had the most flash floods, 15 of 65. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 263 have had fewer than Harold.
July 17, 2010: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Harold — 1 killed.
July 17, 2010: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Harold — 1 killed.
April 8, 1999: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Harold — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Harold's ZIP code 41635 have filed 95 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $831,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1984: 43 claims (45% of all) and $349,000, then February Kentucky Flooding in 2025 with 13. 67% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 143 Kentucky cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 101 have fewer than Harold.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1984 | 43 | $349,000 |
| February Kentucky Flooding2025 | 13 | $314,000 |
Floyd County, which includes Harold, has been named in 48 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 38 of them major disasters (by incident: 21 severe storms, 12 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 24, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Floyd County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $105.5 million a year, the 3rd highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $101.6 million (96%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Harold
- Pikeville, KY7 mi
- Martin, KY8 mi
- Raccoon, KY11 mi
- Prestonsburg, KY13 mi
- Virgie, KY13 mi
- Elkhorn City, KY20 mi
- Belfry, KY21 mi
- Hagerhill, KY22 mi
- Jenkins, KY22 mi
- Paintsville, KY23 mi
- Williamson, WV24 mi
- Inez, KY25 mi
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